


Waking Up

by StudentOfEtherium



Category: Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Gen, Hinata Hajime and Kamukura Izuru Share a Body Simultaneously, Memory Loss, Multiplicity/Plurality, POV First Person, Post-Canon, Spoilers, Trans Female Character, that tag is so plural
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:54:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26233024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StudentOfEtherium/pseuds/StudentOfEtherium
Summary: Chiaki wakes up and learns she has a lot to adjust to in her new life.
Relationships: Koizumi Mahiru/Saionji Hiyoko
Comments: 5
Kudos: 21





	Waking Up

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [something like moving forward](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25753837) by [celestial_nova](https://archiveofourown.org/users/celestial_nova/pseuds/celestial_nova), [ToxicPineapple](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToxicPineapple/pseuds/ToxicPineapple). 



I woke up. That was itself surprising. Dead people don't usually do that. I tried to look around, but found myself unable to move my head. I tried sitting up, to similar results. With an internal sigh, I resigned myself to waiting until function would return to my body.

“Oh!” I heard an exclamation from somewhere inside my head. “It worked!” The voice sounded familiar, but I was having a hard time parsing my memories. Almost like a disconnect existed between me and them. I could remember myself. Chiaki Nanami. The Ultimate Gamer. An AI. The traitor during the killing game which occurred during the Neo World Program, although truthfully nothing I did was traitorous. I had been on their side the whole time. I could tell more memory than that was present, but accessing it was proving difficult. 

I snapped back to reality as I heard shouting. “Chiaki! Can you hear me?” Despite my inability to move, I found myself responding. “Yes. I can.” My lips didn't move. If possible, my eyes would have grown wide. “Wh-what's happening?” The same voice as before responded. “Everything is fine. You don't need to worry. You're safe.” Those words didn't calm my nerves. I felt a sigh come from the other being present.

“I'm Hajime Hinata. I was a participant in the Neo World Program. Do these words make sense with your memories?” I quickly thought of what I could remember. The killing game and the Neo World Program were both things I could easily access. The name proved harder, but after digging, I could uncover some details. Hajime Hinata. Reserve course student. Lacking a talent, but included in the Neo World Program due to-

The memory cut off there. I realized I had lost myself in thought and quickly responded to Hajime. “Yes, I have memories relating to that name. However, they are incomplete or else difficult to access.” Hajime continued with another question, “How much of your death and the end of the killing game do you remember?” I delved into my memories once more. I could remember a trial and the moments before my death, but they lacked context. “I- I didn't kill anyone, right?” Clearly taken aback, the voice answered. “You did, but it wasn't your fault. You didn't mean to.” Those words didn't have the reassuring quality they were clearly meant to have. I delved deeper. The killing game ended after my death, but I had scattered shards of memory of things I hadn't seen. Only one word was so present as to stick out. “Escape?”

“Yes, we escaped. Is that all you remember?” I gave an affirmative. I heard him sigh again. “Then I'll need to refresh your existing memories.”

He began to exposite to me the events since my demise. Of the Neo World Program breaking down and of their final class trial. Taken in with the memories I held, I was able to reconstruct the events that had taken place.

“Since we escaped, a lot more has happened. Izuru and I were able to recover everyone else still trapped in the Neo World Program. We had to make an appearance elsewhere, so unfortunately, I had to leave you for later, but as soon as I could, I came back.” I was still confused. “What do you mean?” My body took a sharp breath. A breath I didn't breath. “Izuru and I salvaged your AI from the system. We considered creating a shell to house you, but we were uncertain of what possible ill effects could be had by leaving you in the system for longer than we already did. We were uncertain on what compatibility your AI would have with our body, but Izuru insisted it would be alright. I guess they knew what they were talking about.”

“What do you mean “our body”?”

“Oh, well that's… Do you have memories about Izuru Kamukura?” I poked around my memories and quickly found a number of small fragments related to him. The Ultimate Hope. A single person with an infinite number of talents. The one currently in control of- 

Memories stopped. “I remember who Izuru Kamukura is, but I don't remember anything that would answer my question.”

“Izuru was created through a series of experiments run by Hope's Peak. At the time the experiments reached their end, I had stopped existing beyond just fragments in the back of the mind of the body’s new inhabitants, Izuru Kamukura. However, during the Neo World Program, I was recovered and in the escape, both Izuru and I came to inhabit this body together. Much in the same way that you now share a body with us.”

“Oh.”

I heard what he said and my thoughts slowed to a crawl. Sharing a body. Multiple inhabitants. Izuru Kamukura. Hajime Hinata. Sharing a body. Physical. Existence. Escaped. Words came to mind disconnected from anything else and I found myself unable to build anything coherent from them. Sharing a body. Recovered. Existence. Chiaki Nanami. Hajime Hinata. Recovering. AI.

“I understand this is very overwhelming for you, but is there anything I can do to help?” I heard a very calming voice next to me. That itself freaked me out. Hearing voices inside my head itself was proving to me something I would have to get used to, but the introduction of an internal space- “If you want, we could create a more physical internal space. We don't need one and neither does Hinata, but if that will comfort you or make this an easier adjustment for you, we can make something.”

I thought about that for a second. Or maybe it was longer. In this state it was hard to judge. Then, as much as I could do so in thought, I nodded. “Alright.”

Suddenly everything shifted. I found myself standing in-

I found myself standing. My eyes widened and I realized I once again had form.

I was in a room. It was small and nondescript. I could see no doors or windows. Just four gray walls. I paced around for a short time, then turned back around to face where I'd started. There, standing where I had just been, was a woman with blue hair. She smiled. “Hello. Is this suitable?” I looked around again. “Well… It's a bit small. And a bit barren.” The woman frowned and the room shifted once more. Once it settled, the room resembled the room I had resided in during the killing game. I couldn't remember the room perfectly, but I trusted the woman to recall it better than me.

“Is this better?” I nodded. “Good.” She sat down and directed me to sit across from her. I did so and she started speaking again. “I'm Izuru Kamukura, or rather, one small part of Izuru Kamukura. My talent is Ultimate Therapist and as such, I was chosen to be the one to represent us, as hopefully I can be more comforting to you than the others are.” She smiled at me. “Is this alright?” I had been glancing around the room, taking in the detail to help recover and fill in the blanks of my memory, but when she said that, I aimed my gaze towards her. “This is fine.” She nodded.

“Where we are now is an internal space for us, you, Hinata, and those of us who make up Izuru Kamukura, to inhabit when we aren't controlling our body. You will be given a chance to be let outside once you are more settled in, but given your circumstances, I judged it best to restrict you for now. I hope you understand.” I nodded.

“Hinata was planning to explain everything to you, but with your scattershot memories, we decided I should do that in case I need to assuage any negative emotions that arise from this.” I rolled my eyes. “I get it. You can move onto telling me what I need to know.” She nodded, still smiling. “I understand. I just wanted to be upfront about the circumstances before I begin. That said, with all this out of the way…”

“We've come to share a body together. Up until this point, Hinata has been the one controlling our body the majority of the time. We only take control when we're needed for one or more of our talents. This means that you and Hinata will need to come to an agreement about how you each control it. I or one of the other Izuru Kamukuras can mediate, if needed, but otherwise, it's up to you. You are free to live your life as you wish within that coexistence and within the limitations of our circumstances. Following the events at Future Foundation headquarters, the ex-Remnants of Despair returned to Jabberwock Island. Outside of rare occasions, you must stay here. However, under Makoto Naegi’s lead, the Future Foundation supplies us with whatever we request, so it's unlikely that you will want for anything.” She stopped herself. “Are you still with me?” I nodded. “I'm following along and understanding what you're saying as best I can.”

“Do you have any questions?” I shook my head. “I think I understand this. If I have any questions going forward, I'll ask you or Hinata.” The blue-haired woman nodded. “Alright. I'll leave you alone now. If you wish to leave this room, you can do so at will. You just need to pull yourself out and back into the body like you were before. Similarly, if you wish to add to this room, all you need to do is imagine your addition and it will be. I hope your memory issues don't cause problems with that.”

And then the woman was gone. She didn't stand up or leave, but rather just vanished. I yawned as I looked around the room once more. In addition to where Izuru and I had been sitting, there was a dresser with a TV on it, as well as a shower and bathroom. And, of course, a bed. I yawned again, which prompted me to lay down. It hadn't been long since my code was restored, but despite that, a lot had happened. It was exhausting. I briefly questioned the logistics of sleeping in an internal space, but I quickly dismissed that. If I could sleep in the Neo World Program, I could sleep here.

I don't know how much time passed before I woke up again. I looked out the window, but the sun was at the same place it had been when I fell asleep and I doubted I could have fallen asleep for a full day. It seemed like the sun’s position wouldn't move no matter how much time passed.

I debated lingering in the room to further explore what Izuru had created it as or to fill any needs of mine that hadn't already been accommodated, but I stopped when I realized that it was just a manifestation in our head. It didn't need that. Instead, I focused on what she had said and tried bringing myself back to the body. And like that, I was there. This time, the body was moving.

“Oh, you're awake.” Before I could process what was happening, Hajime greeted me. “Hello.” After responding, I tried to focus on why our body was in motion. Hajime was walking. We were outside. It was bright, although I could see the sun beginning to set in the corner of our eye. I tried to recognize where on Jabberwock Island we were, but I couldn't find any memories that would help. I refocused around us. We were on a path, dirt, but I couldn't tell where we were going. As if noticing my confusion, Hajime spoke up. “I'm just heading back to my- our room. Izuru and I finished up in the lab after we finished getting you out. Hasn't been long since then, but it was a bit tiring so I wanted to head back and rest a bit before dinner.” He paused, as if thinking. “I figured once we were back there you could try taking the front a bit. I'd feel bad if I didn't allow you at least the chance at that.”

I didn't respond and he fell silent for the rest of the walk. I used the silence to pay attention to our surroundings and to try to use them to spark any memories, but unfortunately, that didn't happen. However, as we walked, I was able to connect these sights to other memories of mine. Memories of friends and of time spent pleasantly. Memories of the few good times we had midst the killing game. Eventually, we came to the small village that had been our home during the killing game. It looked different than in my memories, but the Neo World Program hadn't been built to be entirely true to life. Or it was an inconsistency in my memory. I couldn't tell anymore.

We passed by a pair of students I could only barely recognize as we entered the faux village. Hajime walked directly to his- our room without stopping conversation. He entered and locked the door behind him, then collapsed on the bed. He turned over and faced the ceiling. “Are you fine trying to take control of the body for a time?” I nodded internally.

“Okay, so this can be a bit tricky, but you should just focus on coming more forward. It might be a similar process to how you came out of your room, so try that with your new goal to take control of the body.” I thought over what he said several times and started focusing. Immediately, I could feel a pull forward, similar to the pull forward. It lay before me like a path. I started pushing myself along, but quickly felt resistance. Not deterred, I persisted. It was like pushing two magnets together, or trying to swim upstream, or walking down a windy path.

However, I broke through. I felt myself slam forward and at once I felt a million new sensations. I had been seeing the entire time, but seeing this way felt  _ different.  _ The temperature of the room was mild. It lacked smell, but I could pick up the ocean surf from a distance. I could  _ hear  _ the surf in the distance, crashing against the beach. I felt my skin. I felt my clothes. I felt the air around me. New sensations and new feelings that hadn't existed in the Neo World Program or that my shattered memory had long since lost. It was overwhelming.

But all of that was just a footnote compared to the sensation of just existing within  _ this _ body. This new body. This alien body. Arguably, my first body, given in the Neo World Program I existed as nothing more than code in a program.

The feeling I felt, more than anything, was that this body was  _ wrong _ . It was a paralyzing sensation. The skin felt coarse to inhabit, like I was wearing clothes made of sandpaper. My body in the Neo World Program hadn't had especially long hair, but the difference between that length and Hinata's short hair felt massive. I let loose a small gasp and felt my eyes grow wide. The voice that came out of this body wasn't mine and to hear my exclamation coming from it felt disturbing. I broke my stiff pose and tried moving, but that came with its own issues as the added height and new proportions made each movement feel not my own.

I started breathing in and out, trying to calm myself from the inescapable hellish sensations that this body coated me in. After less than a minute, I couldn't take it any longer. I pushed myself back, not just out of the body but back into my room as far back as possible. I sat there for I don't know how long, catching my breath. At some point, Izuru sat down next to me. “I'm sorry for that. If I'd known you would have reacted like that, I wouldn't have suggested you try fronting. I hope that you can still remain near the top layer without that problem, at least. While you're at that layer, you can talk to others without controlling the body.” Still caught up in the backlash from the front, I could do little more than nod. The blue-haired woman continued. “If there's anything I can do to help you, let me know. It's my job to do whatever I can to ease your adjustment to existing within this system.” I nodded again.

She left. Despite having been awake for only a few minutes, I was too exhausted to remain conscious. I passed out once more.

When I awoke, much like last time I found it difficult to discern how much time had passed while I was unconscious. Without much reason to linger around inside, I pressed forward and rejoined Hajime towards the front. As I did, I took stock of the situation our body was now in.

We were in the kitchen. Hajime was in the same state as I was, lingering just outside of the body. At the front, I could feel Izuru again, but a different one this time. He was busy making dinner along with the Ultimate Chef. I tried remembering his name, but unfortunately, that information seemed lost. “He's Teruteru,” Hajime reminded me. I laughed. “Thanks.” We didn't talk much and instead opted to watch the two Ultimates make dinner. They were mostly done by this time and soon they were wrapping up. Hajime switched forward to help Teruteru bring food into the dining room and Izuru dropped to the deepest layer. I continued watching, taking in the experiences and filling the holes in my memory whenever possible. As we entered, I saw the rest of the class sitting around, most caught in their own conversations. Hajime and Teruteru set food out on the table and indicated to others that they could start. Hajime walked off to allow them at it and slowly a crowd formed around the table. It didn't take long for it to dissipate, allowing the chefs a chance at the food.

With a plate in hand, Hajime started walking towards the tables. Not every table had a space, but he picked a spot beside… a blonde. And on the other side of us. Ibuki Mioda, the Ultimate Musician. Across the table from us was Hiyoko's girlfriend. My memories of each were filled with more holes than I could hope to fill at the moment.

Hajime greeted the people at the table and introduced me. Internally, he spoke to me. “Through the same process as earlier, try to speak through our mouth.” I nodded and tried to say a greeting. “Uh. Hello?” I disliked the voice that matched my intended words, but not actively controlling the body eased that issue somewhat. 

Ibuki responded. “Hi Chiaki! Or at least, Ibuki assumes this is Chiaki! That's what Hinata said, at least!” I confirmed it for her. “Yes, it's Chiaki.” The Ultimate Musician let out an excited cheer, which was met by irritated shushing from around the room. I turned towards the blonde and Hiyoko's girlfriend. “I'm sorry, but since my recovery, my memory has been constantly failing me. Can you restate who you are for me?” The pair exchanged glances and nodded. Hiyoko's girlfriend nodded. “I'm Mahiru.” She smiled. Mahiru Koizumi. The Ultimate Photographer. Connecting the name to the face fired off a variety of other connections in my memory and I felt myself remembering more of her. The taller girl went second. “I'm Hiyoko. Sorry if you don't recognize me, this height is still weird to me, too.” Hiyoko Saionji. The Ultimate Traditional Dancer. The shortest student in class 77-B. I glanced at her again and remembered what she said. I tried connecting her to existing memories, but beyond relationships and connections, I found it difficult. I couldn't match any bodies I knew to the face. “I'm sorry, but while I recognize some about you, there's still a lot I'm uncertain of, so I may be confused during our conversations. I hope I'm not too much of a bother.” Mahiru shook her head. “Don't worry. I understand.”

The table slowly eased into a conversation. I opted to mostly stay silent and observe, instead letting Hinata eat in our relative silence. Watching the three girls converse from the background was interesting, seeing these people I had firm memories of dying here before me talking like nothing had happened. But then, there I was too, another dead woman brought back to life.

I got lost in the conversation the two were having and at times chimed in of my own volition. Before long, however, dinner was over. People started leaving to return to their rooms or to take part in night activities. Others lingered to participate in conversation or to fulfill the duty of cleaning up. Hajime and I stayed at the table until Mahiru and the blonde opted to leave together. Ibuki soon followed and left alone, Hajime and I decided to return to our room. Without much else to be awake for, Hajime got us ready for bed. As we lay in the dark together, we had little to do but talk.

“I'm sorry about this body. Izuru and I figured this would happen, so we prepared a little. There's an Ultimate Seamstress there who can make you clothes, if that would help, as well as the Ultimate Makeup Artist. Unfortunately, not every problem can be solved, but I'd like to make this as bearable for you as possible, especially since it was my choice to save you like this. Oh, and we might be able to get the Ultimate Singer or someone like that to help you with our voice. We could try having different voices, which I'm sure would be nice for others telling us apart.” I smiled. “Thanks, Hajime. I appreciate this.” I could tell my words meant a lot to the boy I now shared a body with. He continued. “Today was exhausting for the both of us, but hopefully we can work through these issues tomorrow. Plus any others that come up, of course.” I nodded and yawned. “Thanks.” He smiled, physically this time. “I understand you're tired. I'll let you sleep now.” He yawned, followed by a short laugh. “I'm tired too. Sleep would do me some good. I've had a lot of late nights recently working on saving you.” I appreciated it. By this point, I was too tired to respond, but thankfully he could feel my emotions just as well as my words. We smiled and quickly fell asleep together.

**Author's Note:**

> so this was inspired two ways. the first is that flash of Chiaki that Hinata sees at the end of DR3 Hope got me thinking about plural implications, especially combined with how inherently plural Hinata and Izuru already are. unfortunately, i couldnt really make any ideas for this click so i threw the idea on my future fic list and promised myself i'd get to it eventually
> 
> the second was i was reading that fic i listed as inspiration a bit ago and it caught my attention as "hey the way Izuru is written here is interesting in a plural way i wonder if that's intentional" so i reached out to tox and it wasnt so i decided to try writing that idea myself
> 
> that idea is that rather than Izuru being a single individual with an infinite number of talents, Izuru is instead an infinitely huge system (and in this fic, subsystem) where each member represents a single talent and the system switches in whoever is needed for a specific purpose in a given moment. i probably could've done a better job explaining this in the fic lol cause i only included one or two people from the subsystem but eh
> 
> wrt to the gender stuff from my initial idea i'd had that in mind but when i actually started writing this i wasnt sure what gender i wanted chiaki to be because it's really interesting either way, but (obviously) i just landed on chiaki being a girl and thus, transfem. that's part of why Chiaki goes functionally ungendered outside of the one scene where it matters lol


End file.
